How fitting: Prime Minister given copy of Hard Times but can you guess what his Cabinet colleagues received on 200th anniversary of Dickens' birth?

As Culture Secretary it was perhaps fitting that Jeremy Hunt marked the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth by presenting his Cabinet colleagues with the author’s works.

And it seems that Mr Hunt took mischievous delight in deciding which particular tome went to whom.

In what appeared to be a comment on the economic circumstances in which the coalition Government is operating, as well as Mr Hunt’s hopes for its success, Prime Minister David Cameron received copies of Hard Times and Great Expectations.

Ken Clarke, Secretary of State for Justice leaves Downing Street this morning with a copy of Little Dorrit among his papers, while it was a copy of Bleak House for Lord Strathclyde Leader of the House of Lords

Iain Duncan Smith leaves Downing Street after a cabinet meeting with a copy of Oliver Twist

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith were given Oliver Twist, Chancellor George Osborne A Tale Of Two Cities, Foreign Secretary William Hague received The Uncommercial Traveller, while Education Secretary Michael Gove was given a copy of A Child’s History Of England.

Other gifts from Mr Hunt included a copy of Little Dorrit – in which Dickens attacks the British prison system - for Secretary of State for Justice Ken Clarke, while Lord Strathclyde, Leader of the House of Lords, was presented with Bleak House.

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After they were handed out at this morning’s Cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street, Mr Cameron thanked the Culture Secretary for the books, which Mr Hunt had bought himself as a private gift.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales today paid tribute to Dickens as ‘one of the greatest writers of the English language’ at a service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey.

He was joined by the Duchess of Cornwall, the Archbishop of Canterbury and luminaries from the worlds of literature and theatre at the a service during which wreaths were laid at Dickens’ grave in Poets’ Corner.

Charles laid a wreath of white roses and snowdrops on Dickens’ grave before two of the writer’s descendants, great-great-great-grandson Bob Dickens and great-great-great-great-granddaughter Rachel Dickens Green, made their own tribute on behalf of the family by laying two posies.

The novels of Dickens were a present to all Cabinet Ministers from Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt

WHO GOT WHAT: CABINET MEMBERS AND THEIR DICKENS BOOK GIFTS

David Cameron, Prime Minister - Hard Times, Great Expectations

Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister - Oliver Twist

Iain Duncan Smith, Work & Pensions Secretary - Oliver Twist

George Osborne, Chancellor - A Tale Of Two Cities

William Hague, Foreign Secretary - The Uncommercial Traveller

Michael Gove, Education Secretary - A Child's History Of England

Ken Clarke, Justice Secretary - Little Dorrit

Lord Strathclyde, Leader Of The House Of Lords - Bleak House

The congregation at the Abbey, where
Dickens was buried in 1870, contained the largest-ever gathering of
descendants of the Victorian novelist, with nearly 200 of them present.

Ralph Fiennes, who is to star as Magwitch in a new film adaptation of Great Expectations, read an extract from Bleak House during the moving ceremony at the Abbey, with other readings made by biographer Claire Tomalin and Mark Dickens, the writers’ great-great-grandson, who is head of the Dickens family.

Other guests at the ceremony included writers David Nicholls and Armando Iannucci, film director Mike Newell and actress Gillian Anderson.

The author had asked to be buried at Rochester Cathedral but a public outcry led to him being placed in Poets’ Corner.

An event was held simultaneously at Dickens’ birthplace in Portsmouth, Hampshire, where a message from Prince Charles was read out at an event led by actor and Dickens’ biographer Simon Callow.

Influential: Charles Dickens (left) published more than a dozen major novels and a large number of short stories, some of which were given to his Cabinet Colleagues by Jeremy Hunt

In it, he said: 'My wife and I would like to send our special greetings from Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey to the Lord Mayor and all the assembled guests at St Mary’s Church in Portsmouth as we simultaneously celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of your most famous son, who was born 200 years ago at Mile End Terrace and later baptised in St Mary’s Church.

'Despite the many years that have
passed, Charles Dickens remains one of the greatest writers of the
English language, who used his creative genius to campaign passionately
for social justice.

'The word Dickensian instantly
conjures up a vivid picture of Victorian life with all its contrasts and
intrigue, and his characterisation is as fresh today as it was on the
day it was written.

'It
is fitting that in Portsmouth the emphasis of the celebrations is on
Dickens’ youth, and I am delighted to learn of your plans to use the
bicentenary as a focus to encourage literacy, creative writing and
performance in schools across the city.'

Our Mutual Friend: Actress Gillian Anderson reads a Charles Dickens book to Prince Charles during his visit to the Dickens Museum in London on the 200th anniversary of the author's birth

Respect: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, watches as her husband Prince Charles lays a wreath on Dickens' grave at Poets' Corner

Actor Ralph Fiennes speaks during the ceremony at Westminster Abbey to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Dickens

The blue plaque on the wall of the Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum in Portsmouth

Dickens’ parents, John and Elizabeth Dickens, moved to Portsmouth when his father was transferred from London by his work in the Navy Pay Office.

Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, at 1 Mile End Terrace, Landport, Portsea - which is now 393 Old Commercial Road - but his family returned to London in 1814.

Another memorial to the influential
writer will be unveiled tomorrow at the site of a former hotel where
Dickens was a frequent guest.

Ian Dickens, the author’s great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens, will be guest of honour at the Holiday Inn on Brighton seafront, which stands on the site of the former Bedford Hotel which the writer visited regularly on his many trips to the resort.

The five-storey Bedford - a magnet for royalty and celebrities in its heyday - had its own plaque fitted in 1925 to honour Dickens but it was destroyed when the hotel burned down in April 1964.

The Georgian building was referenced in Graham Greene’s novel Brighton Rock, in which it was thinly-disguised as the 'Cosmopolitan'.

The unveiling of the blue plaque will come a day after celebrations, led by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, marking the 200th anniversary of Dickens’ birth.

Geoffrey Bowden, Brighton and Hove City Council’s culture spokesman, said the authority was 'delighted to be able to mark his connection' with the city.